For Eagles, a total disaster
Patriots 38, Eagles 20
For Eagles, a total disaster
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
This day will be remembered as a complete and total disaster for the Eagles. There is no other way to view it.
It was a day when DeSean Jackson dropped three passes, two of them in the end zone, one more timid than the next. It was a day when the crowd twice chanted two words that they have not chanted before, not in almost 13 years: “Fire Andy.”
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady toyed with the Eagles’ defensive backs when he wasn’t carving them up into bite-sized pieces. Safety Nate Allen has never been worse. And on the other side of the ball, the Eagles came out firing, gained a 10-0 lead, and then completely forgot about LeSean McCoy, the running back who was leading the NFL in rushing yards as the day began.
The result was a 38-20 win for the Patriots that leaves the Eagles with a 4-7 record and no realistic hope of making the playoffs. They are left with two choices, one more of a fantasy than the other: that enough teams would collapse down the stretch, or that the Eagles would somehow find a way to win the rest of their games.
There isn’t a lot else to say. Playing without starting quarterback Michael Vick (ribs), starting wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (hamstring) and starting cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (knee), except in certain packages, it wasn’t the ideal lineup to be going up against a team with the firepower that the Patriots can display. But the Eagles wilted.
It isn’t as if New England receiver Wes Welker is some secret weapon, but he was open all day. As for Brady, the Eagles had to hit him to win the game, and they did hit him a couple of times early, but Brady began to get ready of the ball quickly, and in rhythm, and the pass rush had no chance.
On the other side of the ball, quarterback Vince Young threw for the most meaningless 400 yards in the history of the league. Even with that, nobody could hold on to the ball. Jackson’s drops were the most egregious, but they were only a part of a team-wide inability to hang on to the ball. There might have been a half-dozen dropped passes overall. And Jackson spent the last few series of the game on the bench, for whatever reason.
Meanwhile, all of this continues to fall on the head coach. The chanting of “Fire Andy” was a new wrinkle added to a terrible year. Now that the playoffs are beyond improbable, the question of whether or not this team completely implodes -- and what that might mean for Reid -- will dominate the final five weeks of the season.
With all of that, there was no chanting at the end of the game. Then again, there were almost no people left in the stands at the end of the game.
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Too bad Vick didn't play. The Eagles would have been shut out. Thank you Vince Young for a good game. If Michael Vick had played, all the talk would be about the bad defense, not 400 meaningless yards. My bet is the Eagles are going to get a call this week and acquire Young in a trade where he'll be a star.— mario1239- ANDY REID,
DON'T BE SELFISH. YOU SUCK. YOU KNOW YOU SUCK. IF YOU CARE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS CITY AND THE FANS, QUIT NOW. CUT THE DEAL. MUCH MORE OF THIS AND YOUR LEGACY OF 13 YEARS WILL BE DOWN THE DRAIN. WHO'S GONNA HIRE YOU THEN? GO HOME. THE BOYS NEED YOU. PLEASE GO F**KING HOME!!!!— MRBURT01 - I need to do a better job writing these post— zajaca
- Job # 1 is to figure out where we go from here. Forget the b.s. about this year, find out who you can keep over the next 5 games. How many times can you watch the coach justify 10 rushes for the #1 running back in the league. I've never seen a team look so lost on the defensive side of the ball...Oh great! Vince Young thinks he played just fine!!! I was always a Reid fan but can no longer rationalize any reason he should stay. There exists an unwillingness to change when change is just what is needed most. His mistakes have flat out cost this team a season and my greatest fear is it could take a couple more years to straighten it out...damn.— iskabobpatel
- This is what this ownership needed to see. The NIGHT and DAY difference between a solid coach vs. a average coach. Stay with Reid any longer and that is exactly what you will get....averageness. Up one week down the next. Lose to bad teams. Get out coached ....get out adjusted during the half .....all adds up to what we've had for the past 13 years ....above avg. but not even close to winning it ALL. Good bye Reid. Let the boycots begin....do not go to anymore home games. Make a statement fans.— RealizticFan
- Staying home accomplishes nothing. Tickets are already sold so the organziation couldn't care less if no one shows up. Goto the games and don't stop booing and chanting for the fat man's head! And do it loudly... The last thing the "gold standard" wants is for it's fans to be booing their team on national television! — mikeyj34
- This game showed the vivid contrast between a barely above average coach (Reid) and a really GREAT coach (Bellichick). The superlative, great, has been used for FAR too long by overly enthused fans who couldn't see the forest for the trees, when, in reality, Reid was NEVER great. Just better than what comprised the NFC East at the time the Eagles were leading that conference. Meanwhile, the NFC East has gotten moderately better due to better drafting, coaching, game-planning, players selected to execute those plays. This meant the same schemes, low-grade drafting and trading away prime draft positions in exchange for more lower round picks, poor position coach selections by Reid, etc, etc, etc, have doomed this team for years to come and will require someone like a Gruden to extricate them from the depths of NFC East he!!. — essell
- Hey Rich didn't you predict a close Eagle win? If Vick was playing, it would be abouut the bad defense. But with Young at QB, it was "The most meaningless 400 yards." Please take you head out of the s**t pile.— mario1239
- This team was lost when they put Prince Fabio out there for nothing more than a last name. Then, followed it up by alienating both Desean and Asante. Those two learned last year from Kolb that you can be a clubhouse cancer and get away with it.— Astro Jones
- The Defensive Players quit the day Arrogant Andy name Juan Castillo as D Coordinator. The laughing you hear is the Offensive Coordinators around the League that have yet to play this pitiful team. Mr. Lurie please make sure Reid and Roseman don't pick our top ten selection in the 2012 draft! I don't think I can take this INSANITY anymore!— younged
- Wow does this team suck!!!— Luvmyeagles
- Maybe that's why they called this team the Dream Team - they just got put to sleep! They will live to regret that Vick contract for a long time.— RJOILER
- There is no consistency with this team. As good as they look one week, they look so awful the next.— albertpa
- professional team vs fantasy dreamer team— all-or-nothin
- This team just got put to sleep - maybe that's why they called it the Dream Team? Andy the Land Whale just got beached.— RJOILER
